...but, we did want to keep you updated on a lone Halo related news item this week, and more importantly, take the time to wish you all a happy and prosperous New Year. Except the traditional Chinese. We'll get you later on!

On this very special day we bring you inside Bungie Studios. Kind of. Inside Bungie and inside the rageling that is Mat Noguchi. Enter a world which we should never have been so irresponsible to expose you to in the first place.

Welcome to the last Bungie Weekly Update of 2006, where we basically wish you all happy holidays and head off into the sunset. Or snowstorm, for those of us unlucky enough to be going anywhere near Colorado. Anyhoo, jump in, jump out and go enjoy the break.

Wednesday morning, at 2am PST (Pacific Standard Time) on December 20th, we went Live on Xbox Live Marketplace with the next in our series of Vidocs - a series of video documentaries about you guessed it, Halo 3. This one's about Brutes.

Oh noes! The power is out in half of Western Washington. Bridges are closed and Bungie has shuttered its windows and locked down 'til this little Typhoon blows itself out. The update proper is canceled as a result, but if you click through anyway, we'll address a couple O' rumors for you.

Say hello to our newest friends in the game development biz - Certain Affinity. This new team founded by ex-Bungie multiplayer lead Max Hoberman is hard at work on new Halo 2 maps and a full game of their own. Read on for the scoop!

A chunky update this week as we talk to Digital Domain, Machine Head and McCann Erickson about what it took to put together last Monday's Halo 3 TV ad, and we chat briefly about the secrets contained in the spot.

Sometimes a busy week for us equals a slow week for you guys. This is one of those weeks, but don't fret, there will be plenty of cool new stuff to sink your teeth into next time. A little news about Pimps, playlists and pwnage.

The image you'll find in here is taken from the CG in the brand new Halo 3 TV ad, airing on ESPN's Monday Night Football next week. Be sure to check it out and set up that Tivo. This is one you won't want to miss. Also, there is some football game playing that night. Apparently. Beta news too.

We're taking a deeper look at the Halo 3 screenshots today. Consider it a behind the scenes look at them, with a commentary track from the director. Except I'm not the director, more like the key grip. Key grip though, that's gotta count for something.

Short and sour this week, with some interesting snippets, but mostly stuff that will make fans of certain matchmaking playlists really angry and abusive. So to them, we apologize in advance. Hurtin' bombs inside.

We had another internal Humpday this week at Bungie Studios, again in Halo 3. So, as you might expect, you'll read a bunch of vague descriptions of rocks and weapons that may or may not sound familiar.

It's hard to believe that it's been five whole years since Bungie unleashed Halo on the world! To celebrate this momentous occasion we've got a few small announcements that may be of interest to fans of the series as well as a little screenshot from a game we like to call Halo 3.

In this, the week celebrating the fifth anniversary of the release of Halo for Xbox, we asked a few of our media chums what they think about Halo, Halo 2 and Halo 3 – and what they’re most looking forward to in the next installment. Oh and tomorrow? Boxors will be Roxored.

This week Bungie took on a team of people Joe Tung holds a grudge against, for whatever reason. This just goes to show that if you cross the mighty Joe Tung, you'll get a Humpday, so go do annoying things to him. I suggest bombarding him with XBL messages.

Since Halo 2 Vista is getting closer and closer, and certain things have changed since we last updated the Vista FAQ, we thought we'd give PC players some more details on what to expect from the forthcoming Vista conversion. New info inside!

This week we took a few minutes to talk to one of the overlords over at Tied the Leader. Check out what Dweezle had to say about the TTL community, shark feedings and to learn the shady dealings of certain Bungie employees.

Hey I actually talk about the game in this one. In as much detail as I can get away with without being fired. Zomg! That is to say more detail than usual, but less than you want. Read it, absorb it like 2-ply bathroom tissue and enjoy it. Lots of new stuff coming up soon. You're going to like it.

The second proper Halo 3 Humpday Challenge. This time we played on the same maps featured in the next issue of EGM, so you can probably cross reference all these antics, weapons and maps with their screenshots next week.